Kevin made several excellent points and I encourage you to listen to his full segment. Just three key points (in bold) were (closely paraphrasing Kevin’s comments):

On #TChat last week, we were talking about dream jobs, what that means and do they exist. A recent Mercer survey revealed that 51% of employees are looking for a new job or are mentally checked out of the one they are in. The dream job is a misnomer that sets people up for failure. I thought it was fascinating. What led me to write about that was the cute DQ commercial of blowing bubbles with kittens inside. I think that even multigenerationally, we’re think we’re going to find a job with kittens inside of bubbles.

My work, life and everything I do are all part of it. I bring that to work. I want to work in a place that shares that. Your dream job is living a passionate life. If that involves work great. If it has to be separate, fine, but if it’s a blend, then that’s the best. For me, it’s all one big public swimming pool.

Not everyone is going to win. Of the coaches I had as a child, the ones I remember are the ones that told me, “Even though we lost, individually these are the things you did really well, and and these are the things you need to work on.” It’s that that is so important. That culture of acknowledgment of engagement and you did a good job and continual feedback loop we keep talking about.

Can we all work at jobs blowing bubbles with kittens inside them? No. I’m not sure I would want to. That’s not my dream job. And that’s the point. My dream job is different than Kevin Grossman’s dream job – and it’s very likely different than yours.

In your workplace today, on the team of people you work with every day, there are likely a few people who are happy in their “dream job” and a few people who “punch the clock” so they can live out their passion outside of work. Regardless, wouldn’t you as a fellow team member or manager of the team want to make the work day as appreciative and productive as possible? As Kevin pointed out, all employees can feel more validated in their work and more productive in ways you need them to be if you keep the feedback loop constant – both positive and constructive.

Are you in your dream job now? What is it? If not, what would your dream job be?

About Derek Irvine

The VP of Client Strategy and Consulting at Globoforce, Derek Irvine is one of the world’s foremost experts on employee recognition and engagement, helping business leaders set a higher vision and ambition for their organizations. As a renowned speaker and co-author of Winning with a Culture of Recognition, he teaches companies how to use recognition to proactively manage company culture. Derek holds a B.Comm and Masters of Business Studies from the Smurfit Graduate Business School at University College Dublin.